Thigh deboning machines for poultry processing lines are used to remove the thigh bone or femur from inside the thigh meat to produce a boneless chicken product. In one example of such a machine, poultry thighs are aligned between a rubber diaphragm with a central opening and a pusher rod. The pusher rod is caused to extend toward and possibly through the opening in the diaphragm. This pushes the thigh bone through the opening and the edges of the opening act to strip the meat from the bone as the bone moves through the diaphragm. The result is a piece of boneless thigh meat, which is desirable among the consuming public.
Although automated thigh deboning machines can successfully and cleanly strip thigh meat from a thigh bone, the knee cap of the poultry and associated tendons, cartilage, and other inedible tissue remain attached to the deboned thigh meat. This material must be removed from the thigh meat before the meat is sold to the public. In the past, this generally has been accomplished by human workers who, using sharp knives, stand along the poultry processing line and manually cut away the knee caps and tissue from previously deboned poultry thighs. Unfortunately, this manual step is expensive in human capital, is inconsistent from person to person and shift to shift, usually requires a number of employees to keep up with the line speed of the processing line, and is subject to human error and oversight. A need exists for an apparatus and method of removing the knee cap from deboned thigh meat that is mostly automated and is fast, consistent, and takes the place of at least some human workers on the line. It is to the provision of such an apparatus and method that the present invention is primarily directed.